Top 5 Transportation Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top 5 Transportation Stocks To Watch Right Now: FedEx Corporation(FDX)

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates in four segments: FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services. The FedEx Express segment offers various shipping services for the delivery of packages and freight. This segment also provides international trade services specializing in customs brokerage, and ocean and air freight forwarding services; customs clearance services, as well as global trade data, an information tool that allows customers to track and manage imports; and international trade advisory services, including assistance with the customs-trade partnership against terrorism program, as well as publishes customs duty and tax information in various customs areas. In addition, it offers supply chain solutions, including critical inventory logistics, transportation management, fulfillment, and fleet services. The FedEx Ground segment provides business and reside ntial ground package delivery services. It primarily serves customers in the small-package market in North America. The FedEx Freight segment offers less-than-truckload freight services, as well as freight-shipping services. As of May 31, 2010, this segment operated approximately 60,000 vehicles and trailers from a network of 492 service centers. The FedEx Services segment provides sales, marketing, information technology support, and customer service support services; and access to copying and digital printing through retail and Web-based platforms, signs and graphics, professional finishing, computer rentals, and a range of ground shipping and time-definite express shipping services. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Mark Lennihan/AP ! CHICAGO -- United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) are rolling out pricing systems to curb online retailers' large package sizes. That means, of course, higher rates. Starting Monday, UPS and FedEx will no longer charge for U.S. ground packages under 3 cubic feet by weight but by their "dimensional weight." Instead of simply weighing a box, retailers must multiply its length by its height and width, and then divide that by 166 to reach its dimensional weight. "We believe this (dimensional weight pricing) will encourage customers to reduce their package sizes," Bill Smith, UPS vice president of marketing, told Reuters. UPS and FedEx announced the change in May and have worked to help customers adjust. But some small firms lack the resources to change packaging and may switch to the U.S. Postal Service, said Amine Khechfe, general manager of Endicia, which offers shipping solutions for e-commerce vendors. Under the new systems, according to Endicia, a woman's shoulder bag weighing 2 pounds -- shipped in a box measuring 19 by 15 by 5 inches -- will have a dimensional weight of 9 pounds and cost 45 percent more to ship. More Business Headed for the Post Office Atlanta-based UPS says retailers are shipping lighter goods but have not shrunk the size of their packaging materials. "We need to charge a fair value for use of our asset, which in this case is space," FedEx spokesman Jess Bunn told Reuters. Online retailers such as Amazon (AMZN) are expected to be prepared. But smaller firms like Oregon-based Natura Health Products would struggle: It expects to pay 36 percent more for shipping many packages. Natura sells nutritional supplement products, many for cancer patients, and spends about $180,000 a year on shipping through FedEx and USPS, said logistics manager Chris Thorsen. To avoid such increases, the company will shift more shipping business in 2015 to U.S. Postal Service. The share shipped by USPS will rise to about 50 percent fro

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Shares of FedEx C! orporatio! n (FDX) were down on Wednesday morning after the company released its second quarter financial results and a weak outlook for FY2015. 

  FDX’s Earnings in Brief

  FDX reported second quarter earnings of $616 million, or $2.14 per share, up from $500 million, or $1.57 per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 5% to $11.9 billion from $11.4 billion. On average, analysts expected to see EPS of $2.22 and $11.98 in revenue. Looking forward, FDX expects to see FY2015 earnings between $8.50 and $9.00 per share, while analysts expect to see EPS of $9.12.

  CEO Commentary

  FDX’s chairman, president and CEO Frederick W. Smith commented: “FedEx posted strong results and a higher operating margin in the second quarter, with continued growth in volumes and base yields in each of our transportation segments.”

  FDX’s Dividend

  The company will pay its next 20 cent dividend on January 2. The stock went ex-dividend on December 10.

  Stock Performance

  FedEx Corporation shares were down $5.96, or 3.42%, during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 21.21% YTD.

  FDX Dividend Snapshot

  As of Market Close on December 16, 2014

  Click here to see the complete history of FDX dividends.

• [By Riddhi Kharkia]

  While, e-commerce has sabotaged the high revenue times of the brick-and-mortar retailers and left them with squeezed margins, it has done well for another industry. I am talking about the supply chain and cargo industry, which has gained from this surge in e-commerce as it has expanded reach and brought affordability to many households. One of the companies in this industry that has benefitted by this trend and has been on the high horse since the beginning of the year, is FedEx (FDX). This betterment in operations and increasing confidence of investors is evidenced by the 30% surge in stock price over the last 12 months. The company, founded in 1971 and based in Memphis, Tennessee, had a great earnings repor! t recentl! y and, going into the Christmas season, would appear to be a nice play for investors.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-transportation-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html